The initial version of the interval schedule program is now available for download in my GitHub page:
https://github.com/rayshobby/opensprinkler
Note that all demo programs are moved to the Libraries->OpenSprinkler->examples directory. This makes it easy to load a demo program in Arduino. For example, once you put the OpenSprinkler library in your Arduino’s Libraries path, you can access a demo program by following the screenshot below:
And here is a screenshot of the interval schedule program:
Basically, it allows you to set an interval and duration for each station. In the above example, stations 1 and 2 are scheduled to be on for 20 seconds every 4 hours, stations 3 and 4 are scheduled to be on for 20 seconds every 6 hours, and the remaining four stations are scheduled to be on for 5 minutes every 50 minutes. So it’s pretty simple.
An added feature is that if more than 1 stations are scheduled to be on at the same time, they will be serialized: in other words, the controller will turn on each station one after another instead of simultaneously. The serialization is activated by setting the Multi-Station value to 0.
The program is still in a primitive state, and I am working to strengthen it so that it can support a weekly schedule. Basically, the idea is to allow the user to add any number of schedule items, where each item contains a list of selected stations, days in a week, start time, end time, interval, and duration. For example, you can specify an item like ‘schedule stations 1, 2 and 5 for every Monday and Wednesday, start at 8am and end at 6pm, turn them on for 5 minutes every 4 hours’. You can add as many schedule items as you want, or modify them later. This will make the OpenSprinkler schedule algorithm significantly more flexible and powerful. So stay tuned!
This (opensprinkler 1.2u with interval schedule program) does not work for me. I set it every 48 hours but comes on every 24 hours instead. Tried to reset schedule and re-entered schedule and same thing happens. The original scheduling for 15min is way to much water, 10 minutes is suitable for my application. I hope the new program with be available as this nice hardware would be useless if can not be controlled.
Please understand that since this is currently a DIY and open-source product, it requires some understanding about how things work internally. For example, setting a 48 hour interval does not work for this particular program because it only allows a daily schedule. The same schedule will start every morning at the start time (6am by default). Therefore if you set an interval more than 24 hours, it won’t do what you want.
The new interval program allows you to set a weekly schedule and N day interval schedule. It is already available in the GitHub download page, and the post and video to explain how it works will be followed in a day or so.
I do want to point out that hearing comments like “this nice hardware would be useless if can not be controlled” is very discouraging to people. I am running a hobby business and not a commercial company. My main goal is to provide users with flexibility of what they want to achieve. With sufficient skills, you can modify the behavior of the controller anyway you want. This flexibility and the capability to customize the software is a missing feature in most commercial products. I admit that this does require some programming experience and willingness to understand the inner workings of electronics. If you are not prepared for this, you should probably look for a commercial product that has been tested maturely.